


Changeling Doomed

by Potato_Being



Series: Changeling [10]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 08:39:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9313901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Potato_Being/pseuds/Potato_Being
Summary: It's the beginning of the end.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is labelled as 'complete' because I stopped writing this three years ago, I wanted to get these on a public domain so if I accidentally delete them from my computer that's not 3+ years of work wasted, and it's a pretty great learning opportunity to look back at my mistakes and shortcomings and then learn from them.

_I am… Miirraa Tensraka. No, no that’s not right. I’m not her. Not right now. Not for a long time. I am… Liana Dezek. Yes. What does she look like? She’s tall, brown hair, brown eyes. Inconspicuous. She doesn’t draw attention. She wears my clothes, but her voice is high, and light. I am she, she is me. I can't get caught again._

_I won’t get caught again._

 

 _First  rule of lying._ I think, walking quickly through the streets. _Don’t draw attention to the lie. Second rule of lying._ I turn a corner. _Believe that it’s the truth._ _Or are those two reversed? I can't remember._ I push my way into a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and over to a table. _And the third. Make everyone else believe it._

“Hey.” I say, my voice a few octaves higher than normal. Kiera looks up.

“Hey.” She says.

“Got anything?” I ask.

“Nope. Couple people tried to hit on Ash, but other than that it’s been quiet. I got a lot done.”

“Maps?” I ask.

“Yeah. We’re getting a nice large list of planets we’ve been to.” She says, standing and handing a datapad to Vren. He takes it and it disappears into his robes.

“Let’s go.” I say.

 

Outside I stop, looking around. Troopers are everywhere. They’re arresting people, shooting others, and there’s a mob headed our way.

“Come on. Run.” I say. Ash takes off, leading us down into the lower levels along the highway.

“We need to find Lemon. There are way too many troopers.” Kiera says. I nod.

 

We end up tracking him with Anya, who is more interested in sniffing a guy collapsed in an alley.

“Anya, come here!” I order, but as usual she ignores me. The guy looks a little nervous as he pats her head, and I’m fairly sure he smells worse than her breath. She eventually moves on though, picking up Lemon’s scent and taking off, pulling me along the road. I dodge people, vehicles and buildings as she races toward an actual restaurant. She stops suddenly and I trip over her, doing a complete flip and landing on my back on a surprised Human girl.

“Sorry. My nexu has no brakes.” I tell her and stand quickly. I’m not holding the chain anymore, and I frantically look around for Anya. Ash runs around me and inside, so I follow her while Kiera and Vren wait outside.

Inside it’s dark and loud, and there are people everywhere.

“Anya? Anya!” I shout. People turn and look at me, some with confusion, some with annoyance, and some probably think I lost my child and are probably pitying me. _Yeah, I lost my child._ I think. _She’s six feet long, three feet high, blue eyes, black fur and a whole lot of teeth, you seen her?_ I contemplate asking someone that, then decide against it. I hear a shout and someone swearing. I follow the noise and see Anya whipping her tail against someone, wiggling all over and her head resting on Lemon’s leg.

“Anya! Go away!” he shouts at her. Anya ignores him, she doesn’t answer to him. She then turns and bounds back to me, almost knocking someone over.

“Anya!” I shout. She immediately cowers. “Go outside. Wait there.” I say clearly. She hesitates, and then does as she is told. I walk over to Lemon where he’s sitting with a girl I vaguely remember.

“What do you want?” he asks. I fold my arms.

“We’re leaving in the morning at 0900. You coming?” I tell him. He looks over at the girl. She looks down at her food, picking at it.

“Maybe. Don’t know yet.” He replies. I nod, glance at the girl, turn away and walk out.

Anya’s chasing small animals, catching them between her paws, and then letting them go, only to pounce on them again. She’s not using her claws, she’s just playing.

“Anya.” I say. She stops and begins to bound over, seems to remember what happened, then slink over, head low. “Aw, it’s okay, sweetie. You found him. You did good.” I scratch her head and she perks up, jumping up and nuzzling my face. I laugh and push her off, grabbing her chain.

“Lemon may or may not come.” I say as Ash comes back out with a box. “What’s in there?”

“Someone’s head.” She replies loudly. People turn and stare. I raise my eyebrows. “It’s fried nuna!” she exclaims, and people turn away in relief. I roll my eyes and walk back toward the hotel, motioning for the others to follow.

 

I roll around on the hard floor. Anya decided it would be a great idea to sleep beside me, and her breath fills my nose. I roll over again, and then decide to just sit up. I don’t want to try closing Anya’s mouth; she has a tendency to attack if something wakes her up. And I don’t need to lose a hand.

I stand up and look out the window. More stormtroopers rush by, and people scatter. I keep watching people until I fall asleep, my face against the window.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Up.” I look at Ash. She keeps shaking me as I close my eyes again. “Now.” I shake my head. She then grips my arm, pulls me up and pushes me into the wall. Adrenaline shoots through my veins and I pull away in a crouch. I swing around and kick her legs out from under her. She lands hard and snarls.

“Get ready to leave, you two.” Jas says. I mock-salute and stand up, grabbing my shoes and pulling them on.

 

We walk over to the ship, Kiera and Jas keeping a wary eye out for stormtroopers. I keep an eye out for Lemon. Anya is excited when she sees the new ship, wiggling and bouncing. I drop the chain and she shoots off for it. Vren opens the doors up and she races inside. The others go in as well, but I wait outside. _Where’s Lemon?_ _He should be here._ I think. _Who was that girl? Maybe she’s the one he came back obsessing over._ _Maybe they’ll stay here._ I shake my head. _Please get over here._

“Miirraa, we need to go!” Ash shouts. I shake my head again. I don’t want to leave him behind. No one in sight. I guess he’ll stay. I turn to climb onto the ship.

“Miirraa, wait!” I turn as Lemon charges onto the landing platform. He stops in front of me, breathing hard. The girl’s there too, following him on. “I’m here.” The girl looks upset, and is staring at me, sizing me up. I don’t trust this person.

“Good. Get on, we should go.” I tell him. He nods, then turns and hugs the girl. She pushes him off of her, and then kisses him. I look away and watch as troopers begin appearing. “Better hurry up, lover boy. We’ve got company.” I say. He ignores me. “Seriously, Lemon. Quit making out, we need to go.” I step forward, blocking their view of the two. I pull out my lightsabers and grip them tightly.

“Lemon! Move, now!” I shout as they open fire. I activate my lightsabers and begin deflecting blaster bolts, and hear Lemon’s pistols shoot back.

“We can't leave her!” Lemon shouts.

“Why not?” I ask.

“They’ll think she’s with us!”

“Well now she is. Get her on board.” I tell him. He nods and drags the girl up the ramp. I turn and run on, through the hall and into the cockpit.

“Get us out of here!” Ash says. The ship takes off and Vren pilots it up and out of the atmosphere. He moves to ask where with his datapad, but I cut him off.

“I don’t care where, just get us out of the system!” I order. He nods and begins plugging stuff in. he pulls the lever and we shoot into hyperspace. The door opens and two pairs of footsteps approach. I turn and face Lemon and the girl.

“I don’t think you need the disguise anymore, Miirraa.” Lemon says. I nod and shift back, my hair turning black and sliding up into the shaggy mess barely reaching my ears. I’ll cut it later. My eyes become green and my skin gets darker. The girl’s eyes widen and she steps back.

“You’re Tensraka.” She says.

“Yup. Who’re you?” I ask. She hesitates, eyeing the others.

“Nikki.” She finally says. I turn back to watch hyperspace.

“Got a last name in there?” I ask.

“Jezen.” She says. I shrug.

“Nice. Lemon, where are we going to put this kid?”

“Excuse me? How old do you think I am?” she asks.

“Younger than me.” I reply.

“That is no way to talk to me! You’re just a soldier.” I spin and face her, my head tilted and my eyes wide. A weird smile is on my face.

“And what are you? You’re just a civilian. Am I right?” she nods. “Lemon, get her out of here.” She pushes him off and steps toward me.

“Oh, so you’re gonna order him around now? Well guess what, I will not stand for that kind of treatment!” Ash looks at me, doing something with her hand. Nikki keeps yelling at me in a pretty high voice, and Ash raises her hand, opening and closing it like the girl’s mouth. I smirk and she quickly drops it.

“What are you smiling about?” Nikki asks. I step toward her, closing the distance and staring her down. I’m a good foot taller than her, and much larger.

“At the fact that you’re already annoying two out of four of the other people here. Actually, probably three. How you doing, Vren?” he jerks his thumb backward towards the door. “Three out of four. Not bad.” I say. Ash stands up.

“If she’s gonna tag along, she better know the crew.” I nod and grab Ash’s shoulder, dragging her along through the hall and into the hold, Nikki and Lemon in front of me. Kiera and Jas look up.

“All right. That’s Kiera Brysin. She’s our resident Sith. Over there’s Jas, Lemon’s brother. I have no idea what he does now. This is Ash Leman, our sniper.” Nikki nods uncomfortably. “And I forgot the most important member of our team. I’ll be right back.” I leave and walk into the hold. _Anya will terrify anyone. Maybe the girl will reconsider joining up._ I whistle for Anya and she bounds over.

“Hello, my lovely girl! How are you? Come on, you need to meet someone.” I lead her back into the galley.

 The look on Nikki’s face is priceless. She goes from confusion to shock into fear in about a millisecond as Anya smells her, recognizes her, and jumps up against her shoulders, grinning and meowing.

“Anya.” I say. She gets down and scurries back to me. “This is Anya. She’s our mascot. She can tear holes in durasteel and take a man’s head off in one bite. I’ve watched both happen.” I say. Nikki backs up against Lemon, trying to get away from Anya. “And she is also the sweetest little girl I’ve ever seen!” I crouch down and hug her. Anya wiggles and purrs, chewing on my arm. I stand up and eye Nikki.

“So what can you offer?” she frowns and thinks.

“Give me your blaster.” She tells Ash. Ash hesitates, and then tosses her pistol to Nikki. The girl messes with it, and then drops the pieces on the floor. “I can take apart any weapon.” She picks it all back up, messes with it some more, and then tosses Ash the fixed pistol. “And then put it back together.” She stands up straighter, staring me down.

“All right.” I say, turning and leaving. Anya follows me back to the hold.

 


	3. Chapter 3

“Ash, where are my lightsabers?” I yell.

“How would I know? Check your pockets!” her voice shouts back from across the ship.

“I did!” I fish around in all of them again. “Anya, give ‘em back.” I order. Anya looks confused. She doesn’t have them. “Nikki!” I shout.

“What?” I hear her scream from the refresher.

“Lightsabers! Give ‘em back!” I tell her.

“Don’t have them! Talk to someone else!”

“Here.” Jas throws them at me. I catch them. “They were in the cockpit where you left them.” He leaves the hold and I shove them back in my pockets.

 

“What?” I turn and face Ash. She’d been staring at me for a good five minutes.

“Nothing.” She replies and leaves.

 

“Vren, where are we?” I ask. He hands me the datapad.

_Naboo_

“Why?” he shrugs, taking it back.

 

“Ash, get out of my stuff.” I tell her. She looks at me, her hand in my backpack.

“I dropped ammo in here.” She says.

“Why would you have it out?” I ask her. She takes her hand out, clutching a cartridge and leaves.

 

I lie in the alcove of a bed and stare at the ceiling. _You’ve got two choices. Sleep, and have nightmares… or stay awake. Either way, you won't get any rest. You might as well stay awake. Just keep your eyes… open…_

My eyes shut.

“Hello, Miirraa. So glad you could join me.” the Imperial sits on a chair, surrounded by fog. Am I on the hell planet? I walk toward him slowly, keeping an eye out for monsters. “Oh, don’t worry, Miirraa. There’s no one here but you.” he stands and strides over to me. “I would say ‘you and me,’ but I’m dead of course.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I’m in your head. We’re all in your head. Which brings me to this: do you really know what’s real and what’s not? This is an illusion. I’m an illusion. You’ve gone insane, darling. That Twi’lek you're hanging out with? She’s probably insane too.” He stops, watching me as I glare at him.

“What’s your point?” I ask.

“My point is this: you may very well be in a maximum security asylum right now, but you’re still thinking that you’re free. And you may very well be running from the Empire, the Rebels, and that little group you called family. Either way, you’re trapped with me. Just you and me, in your head. Forever.” He smiles, reaching out to me. He strokes my cheek and I jerk away, stepping backward. His smile disappears, replaced by a cold mask.

“No.” I tell him.

“Very well. As a gesture of kindness, I’ll let you sleep. Consider it my gift to you, after all, if you die, so will I.” he steps backward. “Sweet dreams.” He whispers. The fog disappears, as does he, and I fall into darkness.

 

“Miirraa. Miirraa? Miirraa!” someone’s shouting at me. “Are you alive? Get up! Miirraa, wake up!” my eyes slowly open. All the lights are on in the room, and Ash is shaking me.

“What?” I ask.

“Wow, when you do sleep you’re really out of it. I’ve been shouting at you for the last five minutes!” she says. “Up. Vren wants you in the cockpit for when we get out of hyperspace.”

 

I stand behind Vren and watch as we fly out of hyperspace over Nal Hutta. We’re probably going to go right back into hyperspace, but it’s nice to see a planet every once in a while.

_Where do we go now?_

“The other side of the galaxy.” I tell him, handing the datapad back. He nods and begins plugging stuff in. I give a silent farewell to my last glimpse of the planet as we fly into hyperspace.

 

“All right girl, you need to learn how to fight.” I tell Nikki. She smirks.

“What’s there to learn? I could take you in a fight, easy.” She folds her arms, waiting for my response.

“Really? Come here and show me.” I say. She walks toward me, fists up. I duck under her punch, and send one into her gut. She doubles over, gasping and I knock her down. “Wow. You’re amazing. Tell me, are you always an overconfident little idiot, or is it just towards me?” I ask. She snarls and kicks me in the leg. I roll my eyes and walk over to the wall.

“Why don’t you fight Ash?” I ask. She nods and Ash walks over. Before Nikki has time to think, Ash has her on the ground. I’m not even sure what she did.

“Why don’t you teach her basic moves instead of fighting at first?” Lemon asks.

“Good idea. You teach her.” I tell him and leave.

 

_How long is it going to be before I’m on actual ground again?_ I think as I lie in my bed. I close my eyes.

“Well hello, Miirraa. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.” The Imperial says, taking a sip from his cup. “Of course, you had a nice rest yesterday, but my generosity has run out.” He drops his cup and changes into Kink. “You do realize, darling, that they will never fully accept you. Even you should be able to see the nervous glances your clone friends give you.” he changes into Lemon. “I’ll enjoy making you kill them first.” 

I fly into darkness and then land on hard ground. I watch as a shadowy figure swings their lightsabers in a dark alley, and five figures scream. Some fall in the first strike, and the rest fall in the second. The figure turns and comes out of the alley and I see her face.

It’s mine.

_“Sooner or later, you will carry out that order I gave. Like the clone said, you’re a time bomb.”_ He whispers in my ear. I fall into darkness again.

 

My eyes open. I force my panting to stop, my breathing to slow, and I wipe the sweat off of my forehead. I get up silently, glancing over to where Kiera and Ash are, and then slide out through the door.

I stand in the dark hold, barefoot, listening to the ship. I slowly walk myself through fighting moves, and then speed them up.

_Punch, left hook, jab, duck, hitch kick, dodge, and a foot to the junk._ I smirk at the last one. _Punch, right hook, uppercut, kick, dodge, try to break their bones…_ I grimace as I try to do a roundhouse kick but slip.

“So I guess you’re not as acrobatic as you act like?” I spin to face Nikki.

“Actually, no, I’ve never pretended that I was. What are you doing up?”

“Could ask you the same thing.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” I tell her, turning away and going through all the punches I know.

“Same. What are you doing?”

“Practicing.” I say. There’s silence for a while, then,

“Can you show me?”

“Thought your boyfriend was teaching you.”

“He was, except he doesn’t know how to teach very well. Or how to punch lightly.” I snicker.

“He wasn’t built for punching lightly, girl.”

“Could you teach me how?” I look at her.

“You're really serious about staying on with us?” I ask. She nods.

“There’s no way I could convince Lemon to come with me to live on Nar Shaddaa, away from fighting.” I beckon for her to come over.

“Take your stance. It needs to be good and solid, so nothing can knock you over. Got it?” I ask. She nods and gets low. I push her and she falls. “Square your hips. Your legs are the most powerful things you got when it comes to bracing yourself.” She does as I order, and I push her again. She wobbles a bit but does not fall. “Good. Which hand do you use most?” she raises her left. I nod and take my stance. “I do, too. That hand’s your leader. When you punch, send as much force as you can through your arm. Got it?” she nods and punches.

“This it?” She asks. I nod.

“I think you’d be best with quick jabs. Like this.” I send my fists out quickly and repeatedly, and then stop and watch as Nikki does the same.

 

_Four hours. Four hours showing the girl how to fight. She learns fast. She’s small and light, a born runner. She’s not strong, but she can move quickly and tire any opponent out. She knows how to bring someone down._ I get up from the floor quickly and give her a roundhouse kick to the head. She falls, but is back up almost as fast as I was.

“Good. Go to sleep.” I tell her. She nods and turns to leave, but pauses, looking back at me.

“Thank you.” if I wasn’t listening, I might not have heard it. I put my hands behind my back and give her a shallow bow. She smiles and does the same, then leaves the hold.

 


	4. Chapter 4

_Rothas Minor_ Vren takes the datapad back. _We can hide there._ We pull down into the atmosphere, flying low over the surface. It’s a dark, swampy world, and I can see little villages on islands throughout. We land on a small island that’s barely big enough for the landing gear. I jump out of the hold into ankle-deep water.

“I’ll take a look around.” I tell Vren. He nods and I wade into the swamp.

The place gets quiet as I go farther in, and I can see animals running through the trees.

A splash behind me. I turn, looking for the source, but there’s nothing there. I bite my lip and then jump as my comlink beeps.

“What?” I ask.

“Come back here. You need to see this.” I hear Kiera say.

 

I lean against the cockpit wall as Vren turns the volume on the hologram up.

“…Miirraa Tensraka is armed and extremely dangerous. She was last seen with wanted assassin Ash Leman.” The announcer posts our mug shots on the screen, and the bounties underneath.

“What do you think?” Kiera asks.

“I think I should be worth way more than that. A hundred thousand is barely anything.” I say. Kiera groans.

“Why can't you take this seriously?” she asks.

“Oh, I am. There are probably more than a dozen bounty hunters on my tail right now. That would make it four groups that want me dead.”

“How are they a group?” Jas asks.

“I’m just classifying mercs as one thing. Rebels, Empire, Ahsoka, bounty hunters.” I tell him.

“So everyone wants you dead.” Lemon says.

“Has it ever been any different?” I ask. He smirks.

 

_A week. A week we’ve spent hiding in a swamp. I used to take down the Empire! I didn’t hide, I didn’t run._

But you also knew who your friends were. You’re living with rogues and traitors, darling.

 _He’s in my head again. Always whispering, muttering, talking to me. I’m the only company he’s got._ _He’ll do anything to keep me alive._

Lovely company you keep, Tensraka. Be careful.

_I’m on a ship in the middle of a swamp. Who am I with? An assassin, a Dark Jedi, a Sith’s servant, two clones, a strange girl and a nexu. Out of all of them, I trust the nexu most._

Oh, darling. You love your pet more than the men you call brothers? How far you have fallen.

_Why are you here, Imperial? I don’t need you._

Oh, how you amuse me. You do need me. You’re greedy. You want power, and I am how you get it. As long as you want it, I won't leave.

_Lovely. Two people in my head. Why couldn’t he at least be a girl? Then it’d be a lot easier._

 

I stood in the hold by the shield, looking out at the swamp. Something runs across the outskirts of the clearing, so fast that if I blinked I’d miss it. Someone’s here with us. I jump out of the ship, landing much louder than I’d hoped for. I walk towards the edge, my hand going into my pocket and gripping my wooden hilt. I walk farther into the swamp, listening intently for the figure. I hear something splash behind me and I turn. A Togruta stands up in the water. One montral is missing.

I turn and run without thinking, crashing through the swamp away from her.

 _Can’t let her kill me. Can’t let her get me. Can’t slow down. Can’t stop._ I fall several times, stumbling through vines and over roots in the dark. I hear her following me, and then hear a blaster shot. I duck and a blue bolt flies over my head into a tree. I turn and activate my lightsabers, deflecting bolts as Rex fires at me. I Force push him away and slip on a root. I fall down a ditch and land hard on my back.

I get up and scramble away through the swamp until I collapse in a nest of roots.

 

 _Miirraa. Miirraa!_ Someone’s calling for me. I open my eyes and look around. No one’s here. It’s still dark, but I can see lights in the distance.

 _Don’t go to them._ I get up and move towards the lights. _No! It’s the Jedi and her troops. Do you want to die?_ I stop. The voice didn’t sound like Ahsoka. _Run. Run as fast as you can in the opposite direction._ I turn and fly off through the swamp.

Hours. Hours and hours and hours I’ve wandered this hellhole. I can’t smell anymore, and I can barely see. I walk through the swamp, water coming up past my ankles. I grimace, looking around for the others. I can't see or hear anyone, just the noises of animals in the trees. I wade through a deeper area, my ears straining to hear voices, or footsteps, or anyone else.

“Miirraa!” I jump instinctively up into a tree, hiding in the branches. That voice was close. _It’s the Jedi. When she appears, take the branch to your left. It’s sharp. Take it and kill her._ I shake my head. _She wants to kill you! Take her out first!_ I close my eyes. Unbidden, my hand grips the dead branch. The splashes of feet get closer. The voice calls again. It doesn’t sound like Ahsoka. My eyes open. A figure comes around a tree. _Jump! Kill her!_ The voice orders. My eyes widen, my legs tense, and the figure gets closer. _Do it._ I jump, the branch in my hand. I bare my teeth as I fly at her, the sharp end pointed down at her skull. I land, the branch breaks, the end embedding itself in the mud. I turn to the figure. But she’s not a Togruta. She has headtails, but they’re incredibly short.

“Miirraa. What are you doing?” Ash. I stand up, my legs a little shaky. She walks over to me, pauses a moment, and then hugs me tightly. “Where were you?” she asks.

“I… don’t know. I saw Ahsoka and I panicked.”

“What?”

“She’s here, on the planet. I saw her and she chased me. Rex shot at me.”

“No one’s been through here except you.”

“I ran, they were closer to the ship.”

“We didn’t hear any shots, and you were the only one breaking branches.” Ash pulls away from me and looks at me. “How long have you been out here?”

“I don’t know. A few hours?”

“You’ve been gone almost a day.”

“That’s not possible, I would know if I--”

“You imagined the whole thing. It was a hallucination. I don’t think you’d have any concept of time.” I shake my head slightly.

“How is that possible? I don’t--”

“Let’s just get back to the ship.” She snaps. Ash turns away quickly and walks back into the swamp. I drop the broken stick and follow her.

 


	5. Chapter 5

I watch as the planet gets smaller and smaller behind us, and as hyperspace closes in around the ship. I hear the door open and glance over at Ash. She sees me and immediately turns to leave.

“Ash--” the door shuts. I’m alone. 

 

 _He’s here, always here. He’s in my head again._ I fall off the bed and lie on the floor. _Maybe if I lie still, he won’t see me._

“Oh Miirraa… where are you, darling? I’ve missed you since our excursion in the swamp.” Footsteps. _He’s here. There’s no hiding._ I crawl on my stomach into the refresher. “Miirraa…” he’s practically singing it. He’s going to find me. I climb into the shower and lie flat on my back. He’s in the refresher with me.

“There you are…”

 

“Miirraa!” I look up at a figure and scream, kicking at its head. It catches my foot and glares at me.

“What the hell is your problem?” it’s Ash. She looks down at me with a mixture of annoyance, fear and pity.

“Hi.” I say. She drops my foot and it hits the floor hard.

“You’re lucky everyone’s asleep. Those clone buddies of yours would have had a field day with you crawling around on the floor.”

“You saw that?”

“Of course I did, you fell out of bed right in front of me!” I blink at her. She sighs and turns the water on. It slams into my face and I spit, sitting up. She turns the water back off.

“Why the hell did you do that?” I ask loudly.

“Well, at least you’re awake. Let’s try this conversation again. Why were you crawling around on the floor?”

“To get away from the guy who was chasing me.”

“What guy?” her hand’s on her holster, ready to draw her pistol.

“You can't see him. Only I can.”

“Why?” she’s looking scared.

“Because he’s in here.” I lie back down, pointing to my forehead. She looks annoyed.

“There’s a guy in your head that’s chasing you.” I nod. “He wants to kill you?” she asks.

“Nope. Wants to make me kill everyone else.” I close my eyes and grimace.

“Who’s ‘everyone else’?”

“You. Kiera, Vren, my clone buddies, Anya, what’s-her-face…” I trail off. How many people does he want me to kill? “Anyone close to me.” I decide that’s a good descriptor, it does seem to be what he wants.

“And is this why you’re running from the Jedi?”

“Yup.”

“And was he responsible for the swamp?”

“Probably.”

“So all we have to do is find and kill the guy! That’ll work, right?”

“Wrong.”

“What? Why? All we got to do is put a bolt through his brain, and problem solved!”

“Won’t work.”

“And why not?”

“He’s dead. I killed him. Twice.”

“Twice?” she asks in a disbelieving tone.

“Yup. One time I stabbed him, the other time I decapitated him.”

“So, there’s no way to get rid of him.”

“Yup.”

“And we’re basically waiting for you to snap.”

“Why do you think I tried to make you ditch me?” I sit up, looking at her. “I am a danger to everyone around me. And you don’t need to wait for me to snap.” I tell her. She looks confused. “I already have. Well, more shattered than snapped.”

“How?”

“I tried to kill my squad. I told you that, remember?”

“Those guys? Then why would they come back?”

“Apparently, judging from what Lemon’s said, Ahsoka’s been really obsessed with finding me. And I helped save him, remember? I guess he’s decided I’m the better option.” I say quietly.

“And Jas?”

“Who knows? I think our medic was keeping files; he might have looked at those. That’s kind of what he does, know his enemies’ weak points and all that.”

“So, if you’re ‘broken’, what were you like before?”

“Pretty much the same, except without murderous hallucinations.” I tell her. She snorts.

“Of course.” She offers me her hand. “Get out of the tub. You need to sleep.”

“Can’t. Nightmares.”

“Miirraa, when was the last time you slept?”

“Um, tonight.”

“Before that.”

“Before the swamp. Right before I went out of the ship.”

“That was a week ago.”

“And every time I sleep, something like what I just did happens.”

“Hallucinations triggered by sleep?” she asks. I nod. “Never heard of that before. Can't you at least try?”

“I’d rather not. I might kill you this time.”

“Fine. Will you please go back to the room, though?”

“Fine.” I reply, standing up stiffly, dripping water everywhere.

 


End file.
